Gary Lineker claims Arsenal are seriously missing two players right now

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Arsenal’s recent form hasn’t been that of champions, even the biggest Arsenal supporter would tell you that.

In recent weeks, the Gunners’ grip on the title race has seriously loosened, while they’ve been knocked out of the FA Cup and lost the Carabao Cup final.

As you can imagine, fans and pundits alike are trying to figure out what is going wrong with this team at the moment.

Gary Lineker believes Arsenal’s recent struggles can be traced back to the absence of two key players, and his point centres on something that has quietly disappeared from their game.

You’re Mikel Arteta: How do you fix Arsenal’s attack?

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Gary Lineker says Arsenal are missing Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori

Both Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori have been out injured in recent weeks, and according to Lineker, speaking on The Rest is Football, that has had a clear impact on how Arsenal play.

Ben White has struggled at right-back, and, despite the fact Timber and Calafiori are defenders,

“I think Calafiori and Timber have a real energy about them. And I think they’ve missed that. And I don’t see that much energy in the side at the moment, particularly in those full-backs, you’d see Timber in the box a lot, bombing forward, Calafiori bombing forward.”

Timber and Calafiori may primarily be defensive players, but they push forward aggressively and add numbers in the final third.

That dynamic creates chaos, unpredictability and gives Arsenal more of an edge in the attack.

This issue is much more notable on the right flank, Ben White has stepped in during Timber’s absence, but his recent performances have not reached the same level. He has looked less dynamic going forward and more vulnerable defensively, which has reduced Arsenal’s ability to control games from that flank.

Meanwhile, on the left, Piero Hincapie has performed well and offered defensive stability, but his style is not as attacking as Calafiori’s. He is more measured in his positioning and does not make the same forward runs into the box. That balance helps defensively, but it comes at the cost of attacking output.

Arsenal have not scored more than once in any of their last eight games, which points to a wider issue in the final third. The lack of contribution from full-back areas is a significant part of that problem, as those positions were previously a source of width, creativity and additional goal threat.

Arsenal are scraping by at the minute, but they may need Timber and Calafiori back if they are to rediscover their best form.